This invention is directed to the field of automotive wiper blade assemblies, more particularly a slidably readily replaceable wiper blade into a harness assembly, especially by a do-it-yourself mechanic.
The present invention is directed to a readily mounted automotive wiper blade element, especially by a novice wishing to avoid the costly expense that may be charged by a commercial establishment. Wiper blades, typically formed of a flexible elastomeric or rubberized material, feature a narrowed section that traverses the automotive windshield at the end of a pivoting arm. Particularly in harsh weather environments, such as during the winter months when ice and snow can impact the windshield, frequent changing of the wiper blades are required. Most automotive outlets offer replacement wiper blades that are supposed to be slidably inserted into clamping elements of the pivoting arm. Unfortunately, these replacement blades are difficult for the layman to make. That is, once a wiper blade is removed, the new one must be inserted. The layman must line up the receiving blade slot along the pivoting arm of the wiper blade mechanism with the channel/groove thereof, and then slide the new rubberized blade into this small channel hoping it will not jam. Rubber against plastic presents an opportunity for jamming, particularly as the space between the two materials is quite small.
The present invention, by its unique design and construction, avoids the problems associated with the existing practices known today for replacing automotive wiper blade elements. Notwithstanding these practices, there have been a number of early attempts to improve the performance of wiper blade assemblies, where said attempts are reflected in the following U.S. Patents:
a.) U.S. Pat. No. 6,314,608, to Fisher et al., teaches a wiper blade for a windshield wiper blade refill that includes a crown located at the top of the wiper blade. The bottom of the wiper blade has a windshield-engaging lip. A neck extends from the crown toward the lip, and the neck increases in width in a direction away from the crown.
b.) U.S. Pat. No. 5,933,910, to Buechele et al., relates to a retainer clip for a wiper blade, comprising a hollow body or cap for receiving the end portion of an associated backing strip. The body is formed with flanges which locate in respective grooves of the backing strip. Legs with a latch portion to locate a claw termination of a windshield wiper superstructure extend from the flanges in a longitudinal direction and are also received in the longitudinally-extending grooves of the backing strip.
c.) U.S. Pat. No. 5,208,939, to Oulie, is directed to a wiping strip, in particular for a windshield wiper blade of an automotive vehicle, comprises a wiping lip and at least one stiffening element for stiffening the lip. The wiping lip and the stiffening element are secured together by clipping one within the other, by means of mutual interengaging means which are provided between the wiping lip and the stiffening element.
d.) U.S. Pat. No. 3,879,794, to Roberts, Jr., teaches a replaceable squeegee assembly or refill unit for a windshield wiper blade that incorporates a multi-use backing strip for supporting a rubber-like squeegee element. The backing strip may be integrally formed of molded or extruded plastic material. A pair of squeegee holders, each in the form of a channel-shaped body having inwardly extending opposed flanges at the outer ends of the legs of the channel, are arranged in back-to-back relationship and include a common web portion. A pair of elongate side rails extending longitudinally for the entire length of the channel bodies extending laterally outwardly are provided on the legs of the channel bodies. The side rails associated with each channel body are coplanar; the distance between the longitudinal edges of one pair of side rails is greater than the distance between the longitudinal edges of the other pair of side rails. The differences in the overall lateral width of the pairs of side rails permit use of the backing strip in different superstructures having pairs of opposed claws for slidably receiving the side rails which are spaced apart different distances. The squeegee element may be slidably received in either of the squeegee holders while the side rails on the unused squeegee holder are received between the claws of the superstructure. A clip which interlocks with the backing strip adjacent the end thereof serves to retain the squeegee element within the squeegee holder and also serves to limit the longitudinal displacement of the refill unit relative to the superstructure.
e.) U.S. Pat. No. Re. 29,392, to Moorhead et al., relates to a windshield assembly for a curved windshield that includes a pressure distributing superstructure having claws adapted to engage a blade structure at longitudinally spaced positions, together with a blade structure including a flexible holder having a pair of laterally opening slots for receiving the claws of the superstructure, and a longitudinal retention chamber receiving an enlarged retention bead along the upper edge of a resilient wiping element.
While the foregoing prior art offer a number of innovations for an automotive wiper blade, especially in the field of replacement items, none present an easy and simple system to provide a wiper blade refill in the manner of the present invention. The manner by which this invention achieves the goals hereof will become more apparent in the description which follows, particularly when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
This invention relates to an improved rubber-like wiper blade element that is particularly suitable for easy replacement onto a conventional automotive wiper blade assembly. The invention is directed to the combination of such assembly, where the assembly comprises a pivotal arm, pivotal about a first end, and a free end mounting plural C-configured claw arms extending therefrom, with each claw arm consisting of a pair of free ends spaced apart and extending toward one another. Combined therewith is a three part, readily replaceable wiper blade element. The element comprises a first, elongated plastic housing featuring an upper surface, a pair of side walls having inwardly directed channels for engagement with the free ends, and a bottom wall having an elongated channel, where the elongated channel includes a generally circular slot extending upwardly into the body of the housing. Cooperating with the elongated plastic housing is an elongated plastic insert for sliding engagement with the elongated channel of the housing, where the insert includes an upper surface featuring an elongated rib for sliding engagement with the generally circular slot, and a lower surface featuring a T-configured channel. Finally, the wiper blade element includes an elongated, rubberized wiper blade comprising a generally triangular body having an upper surface and a tapered wiping end extending from the upper surface, where the upper surface includes a T-configured rib for engagement with the T-configured channel, where the latter two elements is permanently fixed together. Preferably, the plastic insert is fully contained within the plastic housing, such that its lower surface is planarly aligned with the bottom wall of the housing.
Accordingly, a feature of this invention is the provision of an automotive wiper blade element that may be easily inserted into the wiper blade assembly, as known in the art.
Another feature hereof lies in the use of a three piece wiper blade element that includes intermatable components formed of plastic to allow for the easy engagement of the components.
Still another feature lies in the use of a rubberized wiper element configured to slidably engage with one of the intermatable components.
A further feature hereof is the provision of a first component for sliding engagement with the conventional wiper blade assembly of an automotive vehicle.
These and other features of the invention will become more apparent from the description which follows, particularly when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.